Laws of the Old Testament which demand the death penalty

The Old Testament, includes a surprising number of crimes which merit the death penalty as punishment. These laws were believed to form an integral part of the overall "Covenant" between those who worship Yahweh. A couple of these demand that the "sinners" be burnt to death rather than stoned — which was the more usual form of capital punishment. One can wonder why these crimes in particular merit this especially horrible fate.

Adultery (Lev 20:10-12, (man and woman).

Lying about virginity. Applies to girls who are still in their fathers' homes, who lie about their virginity, and are presented to their husband as a virgin. The accused is guilty until proved innocent. (Deut 22:20-21).

Making love to a virgin pledged to be married to another. Applies to man who deflowers virgin pledged to be married, and to the virgin if she does not call for help. (Deut 22:23-24).

The daughter of a priest practicing prostitution (death by fire) (Lev 21:9).

Rape of someone who is engaged. If she is not engaged you only have to marry her and give her father 50 shekels. No mention is made of the girl’s opinion. (Deut 22:25).

Men practicing bestiality. (Both man and animal die). (Lev 20:15)

Women practicing bestiality (Both woman and animal die). (Lev 20:16)

Having sex with your father’s wife, as distinct from "your mother", as it was common practice for men at the time to have several wives. (both die). (Lev 20:20).

Having sex with your daughter in law. (Lev 20:30)

Incest. (Lev 20:17)

Male homosexuality. The girls seem to get a free .. errrr ...ride on this one. (Lev 20:13).

Marrying a woman and her daughter. They are all burnt to death (Lev 20:14)

Worshiping idols (Ex 22:20, Lev 20:1-5, Deut 17:2-7).

Blasphemy (Lev 24:14-16,23).

Breaking the Sabbath (Ex 31:14, Numb 15:32-36).

Practicing magic (Ex 22:18).

Being a medium or spiritualist. (stoning) (Lev 20:27).

Trying to convert people to another religion. (stoning) (Deut 13:1-11, 18:20).

Apostasy - If most people in a town come to believe in a different god. (Kill everybody, including animals, and burn the town.) (Deut 13:12-15)

Giving one of your descents to Molech. Probably refers to human sacrifice and is not now commonly practiced in the west. (Lev 20:2)

Non-priests going near the tabernacle when it is being moved. (Numb 1:51)

Being a false prophet. (Deut 132:5, Deut 18:20, Zech 13:2-3)

Striking your parents (Ex 21:15).

Cursing your parents (Ex 21:17, Lev 20:9).

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Being a stubborn and rebellious son. And being a profligate and a drunkard. (stoning) (Quite a few of us might have a problem with this one)(Deut 21:18-21)

Murder. However if a slave is beaten to death the owner is “punished” — not necessarily killed. If the slave survives the beating then there is no punishment. (Gen 9:6, Ex 21:12, Numb 35:16-21). This is part of a wide range of slavery laws in the Old and New Testament.

Kidnapping and selling a man. This is really a law against making an Israelite a slave against his will. (Ex 21:16).

Perjury (in certain cases) (Deut 19:15 - 21). Deut 19:20 explicitly identifies that the purpose of this is deterrence. "The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing (malicious and false testimony by one man against another) be done among you." Presumably all the other death penalties are assumed to be for deterrence as well.

Ignoring the verdict of a judge – (or a priest!) (Deut 17:8-13).

Not penning up a known dangerous bull, if the bull subsequently kills a man or a woman. (Ex 21:29) Both the animal and the reckless owner of the dangerous bull are to be put to death.

Living in a city that failed to surrender to the Israelites. (Kill all the men, make the women and children slaves.) Deut 20:12-14.

The following carry the punishment of being "cut off from his people". Some people seem to feel that this is the same as the death penalty.